U.S. railroads log carload gain, intermodal decline in Week 1

U.S. railroads moved 416,489 carloads, containers and trailers for the first week of 2023, a 5.5% decrease compared with the first week of 2022, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Total carloads hauled in the week ending Jan. 7 rose 1.4% to 212,962 units, but intermodal volume tumbled 11.8% to 203,527 containers and trailers.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks on a weekly basis posted increases compared with the same week in 2022. They included coal, petroleum and petroleum products, and motor vehicles and parts. Commodity groups that posted decreases were chemicals, miscellaneous carloads and forest products.

Also during the week, Canadian railroads logged 72,040 carloads, up 19.5%, and 54,498 intermodal units, down 4%. Mexican railroads reported 20,442 carloads, up 5.5%, and 13,251 intermodal units, up 10.8%.